Long before Yaxel Lendeborg was taking on NBA stars, he was watching his mother work 12-hour shifts. The Golden State Warriors rookie has spent five games announcing himself, but the best part of his story did not start under arena lights.
Lendeborg’s Road to the Golden State Warriors
Through five NBA games, Lendeborg is averaging 22.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. The confidence, the swagger and the willingness to meet any player head-on all look easy now. His road here was not.
On “Rookie Dinner w/ Vets Aaron Gordon & Drew Gooden,” he talked about where it started: with his grandfather, his mother’s father, who introduced him to sports through baseball. “Aaron Gordon” and “Drew Gooden” hosted the conversation.
When his grandfather died of a heart attack, Lendeborg said he lost his footing. “When he passed away, I kind of, like, lost it mentally because he was my father figure pretty much my whole life,” he said. “Stopped playing sports and was just going down a really bad, dark path.”
A Warehouse Shift That Changed Everything
High school brought no direction. “I’m just goofing off. I don’t really care about anything. I’m not playing no sports. I’m just—had nothing,” he said. He went back to working at a warehouse.
That is where something shifted. His mother, Yissel Raposo, had been working there for about 12 years to support him and his three siblings. She also drove for Uber and cleaned churches on weekends.
“When I was there, it was really 12-hour shifts. I’m like, ‘Man. This is hard labor.’ And she’s been doing this for, like, 12 years,” Lendeborg said.
Watching her changed him. “I don’t want to do this ever again. So it kind of, you know, flipped the switch for me,” he said. “I’ve worked maybe, like, seven different jobs, you know, and that warehouse job for sure built a different kind of character.”
“I’ve worked maybe like seven different jobs you know, and that warehouse job for sure built a different kind of character. And it was the same job that
The Mother Behind the Climb
Raposo did more than provide. She pushed him back toward basketball, sending him to a camp in New York. It earned him an offer from Arizona Western College, a junior college.
Three seasons there led to two at UAB, then a move to Michigan. Lendeborg became a first-team All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year, and led the Wolverines to the national championship earlier this year.
What It Means for the Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry remains the face and heart of this team. But the Warriors have also landed a young player who has worked jobs, carried real weight and knows what a day of labor costs.
That may be as valuable as any stat line. Lendeborg is not just a talented rookie. He is someone who has seen what hard work looks like, and he is showing up in the NBA ready to match it.
Warriors’ Yaxel Lendeborg Reveals the Moment That Changed His Life